Meineke in West Manchester Township collects more than 800 donated toys for Toys for Tots

The local shop took in more than 800 donated toys.

Dave Brady, chairman of York County's Toys for Tots program, boxes up donations collected by Meineke Car Care in West Manchester Township on Saturday. The business collect 801 toys for the charity. (Jason Plotkin - Daily Record/Sunday News)

As a child, Ben Ramsay would rush down the stairs with his other five siblings and into a room filled with wrapped gifts.

Now an adult, Ramsay still looks back fondly on those Christmas mornings spent with his family while he played with his new toys.

"Last year, when I went into Walmart to buy toys for Toys for Tots, I cried a little," he said. "We've always been fortunate. We always had a big Christmas when we were kids. It's tough to think that not everyone experiences that."

This year, Ramsay and his two brothers hosted their second Toys for Tots campaign through their business, Meineke Car Care Center in West Manchester Township. The drive netted 801 toys -- a major jump over last year's effort that took in 439 toys, Ramsay said.

"We have been very blessed, very fortunate and very busy," he said.

In the two years since the Ramsays took over the shop, the number of cars the business services weekly has climbed from 57 to 120 vehicles.

"We want to give back to the community," Ben Ramsay said.

The Ramsays launched the Toys for Tots drive Nov. 11, offering customers $10 off their service if they donated a $10 toy. Customers also could participate by agreeing to donate $10 of their bill to the charity.

The drive generated about $2,500, money Ben Ramsay said he spent on toys, most of which were bought at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for 15 percent off its original prices.

On Saturday morning, Dave Brady, chairman of York County's Toys for Tots program, arrived with other volunteers to cart away the toys, by way of multiple trips, to a local warehouse.

The program plans to store the toys until about next December when volunteers will distribute them to local agencies, such as Crispus Attucks and the Salvation Army.

The agencies, in turn, will get the toys into the hands of in-need children, Brady said.

"This will give us a jump start for next year," he said.

Toys for Tots supplied the last of its organizations for this year on Wednesday, Brady said.

"If we didn't have drives like this, we wouldn't be able to give out toys fast enough," he said.

This year, the local Toys for Tots program spent about $30,000 to buy toys for older children -- those between 9 and 12 years old.

Most of the toys taken in through donations are aimed at children who ages fall between 3 and 9 years old, Brady said. Last year, the program spent about $15,000 on toys.

"We had more than 20,000 requests for toys this year," Brady said. "We are a victim of our own success. More organizations know that we are out here now and call us for toys."

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